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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Nearly 2000 years ago, the dwarven High Jarl of Hammerhome, Grimshaw Blackfell was gifted with Rektor, the Warden Hammer by Moradin to protect the dwarven capital from a perilous siege. The mountain walls had nearly been breached by Thassamar Toosmart, First Boss of Goblins, and little hope remained in the dwarven city. However, Grimshaw, wielding Rektor, smashed the ranks of goblins until he reached Toosmart himself and bashed the Goblin King's brains from his skull.

For 1300 years, each High Jarl of Hammerhome would be given the Warden Hammer upon election to the position.

However, it was with great shock and a good deal of horror when High Jarl Feldar Ironfurrow discovered the weapon had been stolen during the reign of his predecessor, High Jarl Koll Fireplume. Apparently, Koll decided to keep the matter a state secret and had a ceremonial replica crafted to replace it. While Feldar was horrified, he understood the decision and adopted it, fearing unrest and revolt from his citizenry.

So, for the last 700 years, the first state secret each newly elected High Jarl learns is that Warden Hammer has been stolen and is then placed in charge of the Anvil, the dwarven secret service pledged to find and retrieve Rektor. Unfortunately, the Anvil has not been very successful.

What is most shocking about the Warden Hammer's fate is that it was stolen by dwarves of Hammerhome. Garvin the Shadespeaker, cousin to the rogue Ori Bludnehare, who defied his King and settled his Mine near the Drudge, hired a band of thieves known only as the Gloaming to steal his people's greatest treasure. Garvin was convinced his Idol of Perrin would work in taming the Drudge and the kuo-toa that thrived there, but wanted the Warden Hammer in case something went wrong.

Unfortunately for Garvin and all of those living in Blundenhare's Mine, the Shadespeaker was wrong about the safety of his scryings and about his people's security with the Warden Hammer.

The Warden Hammer has waited over 700 years to be unearthed by adventurers.

Rektor the Warden Hammer

Bonus to attacks and damage when using the weapon: +1 (adventurer); +2 (champion); +3 (epic).Flurry (two-handed melee weapon – recharge 11+): When you make a basic attack, make a second basic attack against a different enemy as a free action. Quirk: You hear the voice of Rektor squalling at you to "Git to slayin'!"

Protection (melee weapon – recharge 6+): When you make a basic attack with this weapon, gain a +4 bonus to all defenses until the end of your next turn (champion: +5; epic: +6). Quirk: You hear the voice of Rektor reciting the oath of the Great Kings of Hammerhome.

Vanity (melee weapon): When you hit with this weapon, deal +1d6 damage to that enemy if you are the only one engaged with it (champion: +2d6; epic: +4d6). Quirk: Tells you its story of the time it wielded Grimshaw Blackfell in slaying the First and Only Boss of Goblins.

"Ya know what de say about dem, right? Its those Hexers! Ya don't know what a hexer is? Da school! Da school! Yep, da Hexenschule, if ya need me ta be all fancy. De say dem wizards made dem for a project. An den de got out...and now de stalk us."-Cleo Deopalis, a widow and gossip who spends her days at the Hearth and Hound in Newhom.

Motive: Protect the forestEnvironment: ForestsHealth: XDamage Inflicted: XArmor: 2Movement: ShortModifications: Intellect defense X+1, Perception X+1, Speed defense X-1Combat: The protector and commander of the forest itself.Tree Army: He has 1d6 Level 2 Minions.Hexproof: He is immune to esoteries and magic.Use: An shadowy evil has infiltrated the forest close to the characters and they hear the call to battle of the forest's elder.Loot: --(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

I'm going to guess that this has been proposed somewhere already, by minds quicker on the draw than mine. But just in case...I'm a huge fan of Monte Cook Games and the Cypher System, but I also see an opportunity to play a more free wheeling game with this hack.I'd start with FAE's six Abilities, which would be your Might, Speed, Intellect, Careful, Flashy, and Sneaky.As for Aspect, your Type, Descriptor, and Focus provide your High Concept. And its easy to use Descriptors, specifically, for the rest of your Aspects, including using a Descriptor's inability for Trouble.Stunts can come from Type and Focus easily.

This ancient illuminated script is hundreds of years old and was penned by Ludwig Prinn, an alchemist, necromancer, reputed mage. Print claims to have written the book in the 13th century while studying under Syrian wonder workers. His life finally ended when he was burned at the stake in the early 16th century.

Ghastly illuminations have been worked throughout the tome, which is filled with blashpemous and demoniac knowledge that posit outre revelations about our world and universe. The book is in beautiful to behold, seeming to shine with an inward light, and readers remark at smelling roses as they study the text.

Intelligence gathered by operatives of Operation: Scholomance indicate that the book was acquired by the Nazis in early 1939 and was instrumental in the project known as the Bell. The Bell is believed by Project: Crystal Ball to be a "phylactery" that allowed Hitler to ascend into undeath as a lich.

The book allows anyone access to the following powers: Banish, Bolt, Divination, Havoc, and Summon Ally. The tome itself has 20 Power points that recharge at the rate of one per hour. When casting spells, the invoker uses De Vermis Mysteriis' Rank, which is Heroic.

You gain a +1 bonus to magical attack rolls and damage rolls with this magical lute and may substitute the spell's damage for thunder damage.

In addition, your spell save DC with enchantment spells increases by 1.Bravura was a gift to the bard, Renyatta the Red, from high elven mystic known only as the Empress in Amber. Renyatta had been instrumental in convincing the Empress's youngest daughter, Isolde of the Northern Star, to finally return home to Ivory Petal Island after nearly a century of life as an adventurer.

Monday, September 28, 2015

True believers in the lack of something, of anything. Clergy who spread bleakness and emptiness. A void shaman seeks to bring everyone's store to its rightful conclusion, so the void may be whole and complete.

VOID SHAMAN 4 (12)

Motive: Usher others into the VoidEnvironment: Anywhere at nightHealth: 12Damage Inflicted: 3Armor: 1Movement: ShortModifications: Intellect defense 5, Might defense 3, Preach 5, Tell Stories 6Combat: Servants dedicated to the Void, to nothingness, to complete absence. These holy ones want you and the 9th World to know only peace through oblivion.Voidcast: Instead of inflicting damage, one of the target's Edges is reduced by 1.Testify: They inflict 2 damage that ignores armor.Step through the Void: They move a Long distance.Tall Tales: They have 2 random cyphers.Use: The characters come into a town where 2/3rds of the populace are missing. Will they discover the Void Shaman's old time religion before its too late for all of them?Loot: --

When making HeroQuest characters you follow the traditional methods but your ratings are multiplied by 5. So, instead of placing a 17 in your primary Ability, its considered an 85. And instead of having 20 points to customize with, you have 100 points, with no more than 50 going to a single Ability.When consulting the Universal Table, simply find your Ability's rank. The game will let you know what color result you need.Its pretty simple.Masteries are ignored in this version.

ParaMilitary is my own timeline for a Weird War II setting. The Eternal Reich has used a nightmarish marriage of the occult and science to unleash, literally, hellish forces upon the Allies in their recent retaking of the port at Antwerp.

Antwerp 1946After allied forces were recently expelled from the port by Nazi reinforcements, remote viewers of Project: Crystal Ball have confirmed reports from survivors of the attack that mummies were leading the assault.

Panoptic Jarl

"The Reich have gotten their hands on the first edition of Cultes des Goules...it's the darkest form of necromancy. Our forces are dealing with enemy officers who willingly been mummified to lead their troops into battle. Officers who may very well be invincible."-A selection from the Mankins Report, a debriefing of the massacre at Antwerp.

Special Abilities• Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from being Shaken; called shots do no extra damage (except to the head).• Claws/Bite: Str+d6.• Fear: Panoptic Jarls are frightening creatures to behold.

Adam of the House of Randor is a direct descendant of the legendary King Grayskull, Prince Adam of Eternia was chosen to protect his ancestor's Power Sword from evil. At first, he used a techno vest with a built-in force field to fight evil, but Adam has since learned to combine both halves of the Power Sword, using it to channel the energy of the Elders to become He-Man - The Most Powerful Man in the Universe! He guards the safety of all Eternia alongside the heroic Masters of the Universe.

HE-MAN

High Concepts:

The Most Powerful Man in the Universe!

Trouble:No One Can Know that I am Prince AdamOther Aspects:The House of Randor;

To me, Battle Cat;

The Power Sword!

APPROACHES

Careful: Mediocre (+0)

Clever: Average (+1)

Flashy: Fair (+2)

Forceful: Good (+3)

Quick: Fair (+2)

Sneaky: Average (+1)

STUNTSBy the Power of Greyskull: When I use my Power Sword, I gain a +2 bonus to Forcefully battle a single enemy.

Guardian of the Castle: When I consult the Sorceress, I gain a +2 bonus to Cleverly gain an advantage when presented with a puzzle or mystery.

Loyal Mount:Once per session I can show up anywhere I want, provided Battle Cat can run or leap there.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

ParaMilitary is my own timeline for a Weird War II setting. The Nazi's secret project known as the Bell was a phylactery for the Undying Fuhrer, the Lich Chancellor of the Eternal Reich, which has staged a terrifying counteroffensive and sent the Allies reeling.

Meanwhile, Shaver's Dero have taken Germany's place in the Axis Powers after preventing the US from detonating either of its A-Bombs.

As war continues to ravage the European and Pacific theaters in mid-1946, horrors and monsters out of folk tales have begun stalking the battlefields.

The darkest days of war lie ahead, instead of victory and peace.

France 1946Agents of Project: Crystal Ball have reported facing a new type of Nazi soldier, known as uberfalkoniers, who are commanding highly trained dinosaurs on the field of battle. Obviously, this was surprising to the agents because they firmly believed dinosaurs were extinct. Mystics working for Crystal Ball have discerned that the Reich's program is in it's infancy and hope to sabotage it quickly. Additionally, there are ongoing concerns on how the Reich acquired these monstrosities.

REICHSRAPTOR

They guard enemy strongholds, directed by their handlers with a series of verbal commands, their cunning as frightening as their claws and teeth.

Motive: The huntEnvironment: AnywhereHealth: 15Damage Inflicted: 1Armor: 0 or 5 vs creaturesMovement: ShortModifications: Hunt 4, Intellect defense 2, Use Heavy Bladed weapon 4Combat: An insane old man who now hunts for company.Bloody Axe: He inflicts 6 damage with his favorite tool.Use: A lonely, crazed hermit, Uncle Istvan would love to make the characters his permanent guests.Loot: --(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

North and Central America 1946Horrifying arachnids are taking over the corpses of the recently deceased throughout Mexico and the southwestern United States. The spiders find their way to the brain of the corpse and if its within four hours of death, they are able to consume the brain and somehow gaining access to the deceased's memories and skills. Additionally, if they can remain within the host, other stranger physiological changes occur, including the ability to spit venom and webbing, increases strength and even the power of hypnosis. It is unclear how long the arachnids can maintain their ruse within the cadavers and there is growing evidence that the arachnids are organized and acting according to some monstrous plan.

CADAVER SPIDER

"I'd heard Lonnie died. And then here he is, on my farm, going after my boys, Tim and Matt. I think...I think he was gonna kill 'em. I called after him and when he turned around he spit this...goop...this...it was like acid. Right at me. So...well...I shot that sumbitch and yelled for the boys to git in the house. And then...well...and then a goddamned spider came crawling out of his mouth...huge. Like a crab. So I shot it too!"-William "Billy Boy" North's testimony to Project: Crystal Ball after encountering a cadaver spider.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

This is a pretty basic hack that I've been brainstorming and I'm sure there are some unforeseen variables I'm missing, but here goes:I'm a big fan of Cinematic Unisystem (and Unisystem, in general), but after years and years of point based systems, I've grown weary of them. However, I've always loved the character generation system of White Wolf's Old World of Darkness (oWoD, from here on out) games.So, I've been thinking you would build your character using the oWoD, but the game runs on Cinematic Unisystem: rolling a single D10 vs a chart to determine success; drama points; hit points; flat damage; etc.Its a pretty light hack, but one I hope to try out soon.

Your worst nightmare? Do your nightmares eat you? Ripping chunks from your flesh, slowly, delighting in your pain, in your fear. Finally, after you beg for your end it obliges you by devouring your soul, your very essence as dessert? Somethings are better left unknown. Better left undisturbed.

Frightful Presence. Each creature of the animavore's choice that is within 30 feet of the aberration and aware of it must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the aberration's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.

"A Harlequin, known in the Eldar Lexicon as a Rillietann, is a member of a very distinct sub-group of the Eldar race that belongs to none of the existing Eldar sub-races, including the Craftworld Eldar, the Exodites or the Dark Eldar. They are the keepers of the Black Library and serve the enigmatic Eldar deity called the Laughing God. The Harlequins see no distinction between art and war, and their outlook can best be explained by reference to the legend of the Fall; one of their self-appointed duties is to keep this legend alive through their performances. The central figure of Harlequin belief is Cegorach, the Great Harlequin –- also known as the Laughing God. None truly know how this strange being survived the birth of Slaanesh where the other Eldar gods did not. However, every Harlequin is firm in the belief that Cegorach escaped into the bounds of the webway, existing there still behind myriad disguises and mocking She Who Thirsts from behind the veil. The Laughing God is the only authority that the Harlequins recognise, and their every deed is thought to be in furtherance of his own inscrutable agenda."

HARLEQUIN TROUPE 5 (15)

Motive: Serve the Laughing GodEnvironment: AnywhereHealth: 15Damage Inflicted: 5Armor: 3Movement: LongModifications: Speed defense 6Combat: Space marines who continue to serve the Imperium when their body fails.Power Sword: They inflict 3 damage that ignore armor.Kiss: Instead of inflicting damage, their target moves one step down the Damage Track.Use: The harlequins believe the ruins the characters are exploring hides an portal to the webways.Loot: A dead harlequin troupe has 1 cyphers.

I've been reading the excellent Masters of Umdarr, a great science fantasy setting for FATE Accelerated.

I decided to use the random character generator to work up a character:

Crooked Crow

ROOK CABALLERO

High Concept:

Mutabeast Crow Psychic

Motivation: I must find the Staff of the Grey Masters to shatter the tyrant, Invid DuKane.Personal:I am Haruspex, like my Mother before me.Shared: We both went to the Fulgurite Academy.

APPROACHES

Careful: Good (+3)

Clever: Average (+1)

Flashy: Fair (+2)

Forceful: Mediocre (+0)

Quick: Average (+1)

Sneaky: Fair (+2)

STUNTSKinetic Force Beam:Whenever you succeed with style on a Flashy attack, you can forgo the boost to move the defender up to two zones away. In addition, you can never become Unarmed. Brain Twister: Using psychic energy, you can Cleverly attack an opponent’s mind—provided they have a mind to attack! If you succeed with style on this attack, you can discover an aspect of the target with one free invoke instead of taking the boost. In addition, you can never become Unarmed.

These books are often mentioned in conjunction with the Pnakotic Manuscripts. The Japanese found them in the temple of the Elder Ones in the city of Ulthar, which they discovered in mainland China. No other copies are believed to exist.

The seven books are identical in appearance, but whichever book you choose to read just happens to be the one you are looking for and you always open it to the page you need.When a Cleric uses the Invocation of Knowledge/Lore, roll 2d6 and use the lowest die rolled.A Cleric's Javelin of Faith spell deals d8s in damage, instead of d6s.A Cleric's Spirit of the Righteous spell may be cast one additional time per battle when the escalation die equals 3+.A Cleric's Strength of the Gods spell gains Recharge 13+.A Cleric's Circle of Protection spell gains Recharge 16+.A Cleric's Overworld Travel spell gains Recharge 16+ and may be cast indoors.

Motive: SurviveEnvironment: AnywhereHealth: 18Damage Inflicted: 6Armor: 1Movement: LongModifications: Intellect defense 5Combat: A titanic foe trying to contain the fire within.Fire Within: They inflict 6 damage to all creatures within immediate range when they reach 0 Health.Use: Cursed to hold back the fire within their blood, these colossal beings wander the land.Loot: --(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

"A Burna Boy is an Ork who cannot stop setting things on fire. These pyromaniac Orks are dedicated arsonists all, advancing on the foe amid gouts of billowing flame. They love nothing more than burning other peoples' stuff, and the owners too if they can get them. These lunatics will set light to anything or anyone for the simple joy of watching them "do the burny dance." They can prove utterly lethal to tightly packed or lightly armoured infantry, the roiling blasts of their Burnas flushing their victims out of cover amid the sizzle."

ORK BURNA BOY 4 (12)

Motive: Waaagh!Environment: AnywhereHealth: 12Damage Inflicted: 4Armor: 3Movement: ShortModifications: Intellect defense 3, Might defense 5, Set Things on Fire 6Combat: They set things on fire. All of the time.Burna: They inflict 4 damage to all creatures within immediate range.Stikkbombz: They move the character down the Damage Track one level.Use: A burna boy will burn down everything if the characters can't stop him.Loot: A dead burna boy has 2 cyphers.(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)

Overall, I'm a fan of percentile systems, they are straight forward and easy to learn (what's hard about knowing you have a 53% chance of success?). However, I have some problems with how Basic Role Play deals with opposed tests (the "blackjack" effect of highest successful roll wins works well, but when critical are 5% of your total skill, I feel some discord.)

So while reading Human(ish) and working on my forthcoming review of it, I came back to an idea I've had for several years, where one would use FASERIP's Universal Table.

Essentially one would take their Skill's percentile score in BRP and use the appropriate column on the FASERIP table to determine success. In this hack you would want to roll as high as possible and in opposed tests the best result would win. Gold/Red beats Yellow/Silver and Green/Bronze. Yellow/Silver beats Green/Bronze. If both result are Green/Bronze the winner is the defender.

As an example, let's say that Gideon Hawkins has an Occult of 51, so he would roll on the Amazing column, if the roll was 25 or less he would fail. If it was 26 or more he'd get a Bronze/Green result; if it was 61 or more he'd get a Silver/Yellow result; and if the result was 91 or better he'd get a Gold/Red result. The GM could require a higher result for tougher challenges. And in a contested challenge the higher result would win.

Pretty much everything else would use your favorite version of BRP/Call of Cthulhu/OGL d100 system.

While I was working on my Weird War II setting, ParaMilitary, I started looking at using the ArchMage Engine for the nuts and bolts of Palladium's Heroes Unlimited. I've been exploring that and decided to work up a super villain as an exercise.

ECHELON PROFILEEschatron is an artifical intelligence created by the apocalyptic Cult of Better Days, who sacrificed their entire membership, 23 souls as Eschaton was brought online.Four day laters he laid waste to nearby San Franciso before he was defeated by the Regulators.He is a Maximum Omega Level Threat.

ESCHATRON

"Rule the world?! You meat and bone fool, I want to bring it to an end!"

Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement by a magic user)• As a bonus action, you may open a portal to Celaeno, a distant planet that contains a huge library of alien literature. The portal is 10' x 10' and ends when you will it.• You may cast the gate spell once per day.• You may cast the dispel good and evil spell twice per day.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

A High Lord for the Splugorith who grows bored and longs for only the hunt. They opt to become bio-borgs to become predators who love to stalk, track, and fight.

CONSERVATOR (BIO-BORG) 5 (15)

Motive: Serve the SplugorithEnvironment: AnywhereHealth: 15Damage Inflicted: 5Armor: 3Movement: : ShortModifications: Intellect defense 4, Might defense 6, Stealth 6, Tracking 6Combat: They are inhuman engines of destruction.Scent Chemical: Any creature marked by this scent chemical can be tracked for 8 days.Four Arms: They may attack 2 characters within immediate range with one action.Tail: A creature hit by the stinger moves one step down the damage track.Bio-Wizardry: They have 1 random artifact.Use: A conservator is tracking a target when it comes across the characters.Loot: A dead conservator has 1 artifact.(If you like this post and others like it and have an extra $1 a month, please consider becoming a Patron of Cross Planes on Patreon.)